The Rubber Nun is a big fan of this Random Ten meme-thingie and I’m a big fan of the Rubber Nun, so in honor of the elastic sister I thought I’d give it a spin myself. Of course I think you’re supposed to do it on Fridays … but isn’t it still Friday in Singapore, […]
Entries Tagged as 'Culture'
A Book That Will Live in Grinfamy
May 25th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Books, Comedy, Culture, History, Journalism, Language, News
This is a laugh-out-loud good time. Janet Maslin at the New York Times reviews the new book about Pearl Harbor (titled simply Pearl Harbor) by Newt Gingrich and his co-author, William R. Forstchen. The title of her review? “An Assault on Hawaii. On Grammar Too.” OK, I could have stopped right there, and that would […]
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Music: “The Wild, the Beautiful and the Damned” (and A Tale of Two Ultravoxes)
May 25th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Culture, Music, New Wave, Video
Here’s a nice video find for Friday: “The Wild, the Beautiful and the Damned” by Ultravox! (the early, John Foxx-led incarnation of the band). This song has possibly the most figuratively ambitious lyrics you’ll find in any song not written by David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, or Bob Dylan. And what a thrill to watch John […]
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Stephen Colbert: Behind the Maniac
May 23rd, 2007 · 1 Comment · Chicago, Comedy, Culture, Fringe, Journal, Media, Neo-Futurists, Politics, Theater, TV, Video
For those who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Stephen Colbert in person, this backstage video of him prepping John Kerry before Kerry’s recent Colbert Report appearance is a fun little peek behind the curtain of the character he plays on his show. I think knowing what a charming, mild-mannered, and self-effacing person Stephen is […]
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Roundup: Pottymouth Jar Edition
May 22nd, 2007 · 1 Comment · Apple, Blogs, Business, Comics, Culture, Foreign Policy, Health, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Macintosh, Music, News, Politics, Religion, Tech, Terrorism, Torture
It’s the foreign policy, stupid: This great post at Crooks and Liars takes apart the simplistic and unhelpful notion that terrorists “hate us for our freedoms.” As Michael Scheuer, former station chief of the CIA’s Osama Bin Laden task force, says: “The fundamental flaw in our thinking about Bin Laden is that ‘Muslims hate and […]
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The Colbert Report: Heated Debate
May 21st, 2007 · Comments Off on The Colbert Report: Heated Debate · Climate Change, Comedy, Culture, Education, Politics, Science, TV, Video
“Professors are forcing our kids to submit to their pro-glacier agenda!” Newsflash: Student traumatized when his university tries to make him learn things that don’t harmonize with his conservative worldview! Fortunately, Stephen Colbert is here to make sense of the situation. Yeah, what Stephen said! Because you should never, ever have to be taught […]
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Why I Love Barney Frank: Being Gay Would Be a Crime “If the Republicans Had Their Way”
May 20th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Comedy, LGBT, Politics, TV, Video
This an oldie from last fall, but it’s a classic Barney Frank rant and I got a kick out of watching it again when I happened across it a couple of days ago. When the good Congressman gets going, he just mops up the rhetorical floor with whatever poor hapless soul has the misfortune to […]
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Baffled by the Internet (and How It Really Works)
May 18th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Comedy, Culture, Education, Internet, Law, News, Politics, Tech
I’ve been disturbed for a couple of days now by this story about a judge in the UK who was baffled by the concept of a Web site. A British judge admitted on Wednesday he was struggling to cope with basic terms like “Web site” in the trial of three men accused of inciting terrorism […]
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Music: Captain Sensible — “If You Don’t Talk Happy, and You Never Have a Dream …”
May 18th, 2007 · Comments Off on Music: Captain Sensible — “If You Don’t Talk Happy, and You Never Have a Dream …” · Comedy, Culture, Music, New Wave, TV, Video
Just the thing for a Friday: Captain Sensible doing his version of “Happy Talk” (i.e., the best version ever!) on Top of the Pops. If you ask me, the parrot steals it. Bonus: Captain Sensible cereal commercial! … and the good Captain getting interviewed by a puppet. I just wish there were a […]
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NYC Ferrets Against Giuliani
May 17th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Activism, Culture, LGBT, Nature, News, Pets, Politics, Video
Some ferrets talk smack about Rudy G: There was a time when I used to buy the line that ferrets don’t make good pets, before I’d ever gotten to know any. But in recent years my sister has had a couple of ferrets and they’ve been wonderful companion animals — friendly, happy, gentle, and […]
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Photo: “6 Faggots in Gravy”!
May 16th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Blogs, Culture, Food, Fringe, LGBT, Neo-Futurists, News, Photos, Theater, Travel
Andy Towle has been posting about controversy in the UK over signs advertising the traditional dish called “faggots” as a menu item (or an item not on the menu, as the case may be). Which made me remember this shot I took when I was staying in Edinburgh in 2000, while performing with The Neo-Futurists […]
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Fool MSNBC Twice, Shame on You
May 15th, 2007 · 5 Comments · Blogs, Culture, Internet, Journalism, Media, News, Politics, TV, Video
Funny stuff. Josh Marshall from Talking Points Memo roasts MSNBC for mistaking a parody White House site for the real thing in their Falwell coverage. The second time around, the anchorpersonage has a wee bit of trouble understanding the nature of her earlier mistake. MSNBC needs to hire some kids to explain the Web […]
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Roundup: Carrot Whittling Edition
May 15th, 2007 · 4 Comments · Blogs, Culture, Education, Energy, Film, Food, LGBT, Music, New Wave, News, Politics, Science, Science Fiction, Tech
White light, green heat: LEDS aren’t just for clock radios any more. In fact, LED lightbulbs may turn out to be the bulb of the future instead of compact fluorescents. Thanks to a breakthrough in the 90s, modern LEDs can emit white light instead of just red or green. They last up to five times […]
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Forty-Onederful: Alt Q Review
May 14th, 2007 · 5 Comments · Chicago, Culture, Fringe, LGBT, Media, Music, Performance
Speaking of Jorjet, as I was a couple of posts ago, I spent the evening of my forty-first birthday sharing a table with her at this year’s Alt Q festival at the Old Town School of Folk Music (after having a nice coconut and basil dinner with Lisa Buscani at Thai Classic). Alt Q was […]
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